Hands On: Music Man Majesty Artisan

Dream Theater’s John Petrucci has amassed quite a line of signature guitars from Music Man; 6-strings, 7-strings, higher-end, entry level — these outstanding instruments cover a wide range of tonal and musical applications and offer maximum playability whether you’re playing a simple melody or shredding arpeggios at light speed. Now, the Petrucci signature family has expanded with a new arrival: the Majesty Artisan.

The Majesty Artisan features a more traditional look, yet it still incorporates all of the Petrucci-specified features, such as his signature floating trem with built-in piezo pickup for acoustic tones, Schaller locking tuners, dual DiMarzio Illuminator humbucking pickups, and more. The guitar has a through-neck design, featuring a mahogany body/neck, with a laser-etched maple top, an ebony fingerboard, custom JP-Majesty inlays, 24 stainless-steel medium-jumbo frets, fully shielded electronics, and an onboard preamp providing instant gain boost when you push on the volume knob. The Majesty Artisan is available in 6- and 7-string versions; I received the 6-string in the gorgeous Marrone finish for my evaluation.

In use, the Majesty Artisan is incredibly comfortable to play: weight balanced, nicely contoured, with a fast neck carve that just begs you to let the notes fly. The flat neck radius works for chording and for single-note lines. The pickups provide an articulate, rich tone, with controlled bottom end. The 3-position pickup selector actually gives you four choices in conjunction with another knob/switch that changes the configuration when both pickups are on. You can easily go from bright, clear, chiming tones to chunky, crunchy rhythms to soaring, singing leads. Then, pop on the gain boost and push it over the top for roaring chords and screaming leads. Hit another switch, and you’re instantly playing a sparkling, ringing acoustic tone. Talk about versatility!

Tone, sustain, flexibility, versatility, craftsmanship, the Music Man Majesty Artisan has it all.